SMH News Of The Week: Chinese Couple Sell Their Kids In Order To Keep Up With Video Gaming Expenses!

"People will sell all sorts of things to feed an
addiction, but a couple in China has gone further
than ever before. The National Ledger reports...
"A young Chinese couple has sold all three of
their children in exchange for money to play
online games at Internet cafes...[a relative]
turned the couple in after learning what [they]
had done."
$9,700--A blogger for Joystiq writes, that was the
amount the parents reeled in for the children
before they were turned in.
"Li Lin and Li Juan sold their baby daughter for
approximately $500 as well as two sons for $4,600
each. The Sanxiang City News reported that the
couple were turned over to authorities by Li Lin's
mother."
While selling children is illegal in China, the
couple's defense was a little unorthodox. They
claimed: they didn't know.
Digital Journal says that isnt' as far off as it
may sound. They say other Chinese laws may have
confused the young parents. They report...
"According to Sanxiang City News, the newspaper
which originally reported on the couple's actions,
neither Lin nor Juan knew that selling their
children was illegal. In China, where a one-child
policy is heavily enforced, it is likely that the
couple--both allegedly under 21 years of age--
sincerely did not know that their actions were
against the law."
A writer for Dvice reacts saying, we've seen this
kind of behavior from electronics junkies before,
but never like this.
"We've heard of young teens trading kidneys for
iPads, virginities for iPhones and weirdos who eat
deep-fried PSPs, but parents selling their kids to
fund Internet gaming addictions? That's new and
insane."
But is it really that simple? A writer for Gather
says that gaming or otherwise--an addiction is an
addiction.
"It's more than a case of deadbeat parents; the
egregious act is tantamount to a crack cocaine
addiction. In both instances, the instrument of
addiction is needed over and over as the person
chases another high."" - Newsy